This invention relates to modular furniture and more particularly to a semi-permanent joint structure by means of which components of such furniture may be assembled in desired combinations.
The recent popularity of glass-and-steel "architectural" furniture has been reflected by a demand for display cases, tables and racks which bear a similar sleek and shiny look.
The glass-and-steel type of furniture may be constructed using sheets of plate glass or plastic and structural elements of polished aluminum, stainless steel or chrome plated metal. More recently, mirrorized plastic structural elements have become available. One example of the mirrorized plastic shapes which have found commercial acceptance are marketed under the trademark "Mirron", a trademark for mirrorized thermoplastic extruded shapes manufactured and sold by Thermoplastic Processes, Inc. of Stirling, N.J. In this type of material, a thin coating of vaporized aluminum is applied to plastic rods, bars and tubing to form a highly silvered or mirror-like finish. The rods or bars of Mirron when used with clear or colored plexiglass or lucite sheets may be arranged to form modules of glass-and-steel look furniture. The modules may be arranged to form cocktail or other types of household tables or display stands, shelves, or racks for the display-case industry.
Because the attractiveness of mirrorized plastic structural shapes depends upon the mirrorized finish being unmarred during the assembly process, the type of joining arrangement employed can be critical. Heretofore this has necessitated that the structural shapes be assembled in the shop under carefully controlled conditions so that the welding or gluing operations that are used will not cause marring of the mirror-like finish of these elements. Because of the need for shop fabrication, it has been difficult for some segments of the display case industry to maintain an adequately diverse stock of different sizes and configurations of the tables, racks, etc., promptly to respond to orders as they are placed. It would be extremely advantageous, therefore, to allow glass-and-steel look furniture to be manufactured from a variety of easy pre-stockable components that permitted field assembly with no special tools and yet which achieved a great variety in assembly combinations.
When modular furniture is used to build display cases or tables, another problem is introduced by the occasional desire of the user to rearrange his displays as the assortment of products to be displayed changes. Heretofore, this has largely necessitated the junking of existing display cases since once assembled, the components cannot be readily taken apart and reused. It would be advantageous to provide a joint for especially the glass-and-steel look display case that would permit disassembly of the display case and rearrangement and reuse of the old components or the addition thereto of new components with ease and safety.